The 50's diner pastiche was overwhelming when walking into this place. Hidden behind a large carwash, you’d be hard pressed to find it unless you were actively seeking it out, maybe not such a bad thing.
It’s unashamedly gimmicky with its blue leather booths, checkered flooring, pool table and old skool jukebox. The food was equally gimmicky.
We stopped in because we were having a weekend out of London and it happened to be on route. The first notable thing was the fact it was nearly empty. A few booths were taken up with families and children but the remaining seats were cold. Not only the seats: it was warmer outside.
We sat at a booth and ordered the Chicken Burger with Tarragon Mayo (£8.95), Fried Mozzarella Sticks (£6.50) and Pulled Pork Sandwich (£8.50). The burger came with a mountain of skinny chips which is always good, but the chicken itself was bland as anything and I was hard pressed to taste any supposed tarragon in the mayo. The pulled pork was meagre and stuck between two soggy bits of Hovis The mozzarella had been fried and allowed to cool so it had re-hardened (the waitress didn't expedite and as she walked back and forth passed the plate I could feel both the sticks and myself getting more and more tense). The sweet chilli sauce it came with was also clearly out of a jar. I'm saddened to say that an American would undoubtably scoff at all of the above.
Of course I didn’t expect much else from a diner stuck behind a carwash in the middle of nowhere, and in this instance my doubts were realised. I walked out feeling unsatisfied and wondering why they put so much effort in their decor and little on their food. I'd much rather have a killer chicken burger in an outhouse than a very mediocre one in a try-hard themed diner.
Carwash Diner
5/10
Horseshoe Garage
Hurst Green
East Sussex, TN19 7QY
Tel: 01580 860370
www.carwashdiner.co.uk
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